With the creation of the Internet and an ever increasing number of people who are able to access the Internet from an ever increasing number of places such as work, home, laptop, mobile cellular phone, and personal desktop assistant (PDA), people have also created new methods to communicate with each other using these new technologies (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,442,018, which describes the laptop computer, 3,906,166, which describes the mobile cellular phone, and 3,999,050, which describes the personal desktop assistant; all of these patents are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety).
One example of a new communication method is online chatting (i.e. the use of online chat rooms). Known technically as “synchronous conferencing,” online chatting allows people to meet others and communicate via typing messages to one another publicly and privately. (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,271, which describes a method and apparatus for sending and receiving lightweight messages or synchronous conferencing, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
Varies websites currently exist on the Internet where the ability for individuals to post various items of personal information for others to view, for the purpose of social interaction have been created. For example, see the following representative, but not exhaustive, list of http-type websites: www.myspace.com, www.eharmony.com, www.facebook.com, www.match.com, and personals.yahoo.com.
These websites facilitate communication between individuals, known as, “social networking,” by providing, among other things, a method for individuals to subscribe, provide personal information, known as a profile, and view other people's profiles along with the ability to instant message and email other subscribers. The concept of social networking is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,153, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The Internet is connecting people with each other by providing new methods for people to meet that previously did not exist. These introductions are far less encumbered by the traditional limitations placed upon people meeting in the past, such as having common friends. It appears now that any person with a profile has the means to introduce themselves to another person, with a profile, without the need of a traditional introduction. In addition to meeting and making on-line friends, people are now extending their virtual friendships into the real world meeting one other to engage in various social activities. As imagined, when strangers meet there is an element of risk assumed by both parties. Some of these dangers are addressed in the blog “Hot Points—A blog by Go Daddy CEO and founder Bob Parsons,” within an article entitled “Why the Internet can be a bad place to meet people. A murder in Virginia. The Taylor Behl story,” dated Oct. 12, 2005, the article herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
What is needed is an automated and computerized method to mitigate the risks inherent in two strangers meeting (i.e. to increase the margin of safety when one individual meets another individual, or individuals, that are not well known).